Buzz
There’s nothing more delightful than packing a cooler full of tasty treats for a beach or park picnic. If the weather is hot, you might want to bring ice cream along, but how do you prevent it from melting? Fortunately, here are some handy tips to help you keep your ice cream frozen longer.
Steps
Use Dry Ice
Purchase about 4.5 – 9 kg of dry ice for a 38-liter cooler. You can buy dry ice at grocery stores for around 45,000 VND per kilogram. Dry ice evaporates at a rate of 2.5 – 5 kg per day, so if you buy it too early, you might end up with nothing left.
- Dry ice typically comes in 25x5 cm blocks, weighing about 4.5 kg each. You’ll need one block for every 38 cm of cooler length.
- You can make your own dry ice by spraying CO2 from a fire extinguisher into a pillowcase for 2-3 seconds. Wear gloves, closed-toe shoes, and other protective gear if you attempt to make dry ice yourself.
Choose an insulated cooler with ventilation holes. Dry ice evaporates, so you’ll need a cooler with vents or a pressure release valve. If the cooler is completely sealed, the buildup of gas pressure could cause it to explode.
- If the cooler doesn’t have vents, slightly open the lid.
- Plastic or foam coolers are common choices for storing dry ice.
Use thick gloves to handle dry ice. Dry ice can cause frostbite at –78°C. Never touch dry ice with bare hands when retrieving items from the cooler!
Place the ice cream at the bottom of the cooler. Cold air sinks, so dry ice works most effectively when placed above the items you want to keep frozen. If possible, position the dry ice on top of everything else in the cooler.
Wrap the dry ice in a towel and place it in the cooler. The towel acts as insulation, helping the dry ice last longer. It also protects other items in the cooler from damage caused by direct contact with the dry ice.
Store drinks and snacks in a separate cooler to prevent them from freezing. Dry ice is cold enough to freeze anything placed beneath it. Keep beverages and snacks in another cooler to ensure they don’t freeze solid, while also helping the dry ice last longer.
Fill any empty space in the cooler. Gaps in the cooler will cause dry ice to evaporate faster. If you don’t have enough food to fill the cooler, you can use regular ice, towels, crumpled newspaper, or simply buy more ice cream!
- Seal the cooler tightly after filling it.
Place the cooler in the trunk if transporting it in a car. Dry ice evaporates and turns into carbon dioxide. In a confined space like a car, accumulated carbon dioxide can cause dizziness or even fainting.
- If the trunk is full and the cooler must be placed inside the car, crack the windows or adjust the air conditioning to allow fresh air circulation.
Avoid leaving the cooler in direct sunlight. Dry ice lasts longer when the cooler is kept in a shaded area.
Let the dry ice sit at room temperature when no longer needed. The wind will take care of the dry ice! Once you’ve finished the ice cream, simply open the cooler and place it in a well-ventilated area. The dry ice will turn into carbon dioxide and dissipate into the air.
- Never dispose of dry ice in drains, sinks, toilets, or trash bins. Water pipes can freeze and burst, or even explode if the dry ice expands too quickly.
Use regular ice
Choose a high-quality cooler. Not all coolers are created equal! Different brands use various insulation methods. Premium brands like Yeti or Coleman will keep your ice cream from melting much more effectively than foam coolers.
Pre-chill the cooler before adding items. You wouldn’t want to place ice cream in a warm cooler. Bring the cooler indoors to cool it down. If necessary, fill it with a bucket of ice to chill it. Before adding the ice cream, dump the old ice and replace it with fresh ice.
Place the ice cream at the bottom of the cooler. Items at the bottom stay the coldest. Non-frozen items can be placed above. Avoid putting anything warm in the cooler with the ice cream, as it needs to stay as cold as possible!
Use a large block of ice to slow melting. Use a large pot or container to create a big ice block. The larger the block, the slower it melts – and the longer your ice cream stays frozen!
Sprinkle rock salt over the ice to slow melting. Rock salt reduces the melting rate of ice. In fact, rock salt was traditionally used to make ice cream! Sprinkle 1-2 handfuls of rock salt directly over the ice.
Place the ice cream in a freezer bag inside the cooler for extra insulation. Reusable freezer bags, often used by grocery stores to keep food hot or cold, can help. Try putting the ice cream container in one of these bags, then place the bag in the cooler and surround it with ice.
Fill any empty space in the cooler. Gaps in the cooler will cause the ice to melt faster. If needed, use towels to fill the empty spaces in the cooler.
Keep the cooler lid closed as much as possible. The more you open the cooler, the faster the ice inside will melt. Store drinks in a separate cooler since they are accessed more frequently.
Try to avoid placing the cooler directly in the sun. This might be challenging if you’re in an area without shade, but position the cooler behind a chair or under an umbrella to keep it cool.
Warnings
- Always store dry ice in a well-ventilated area.
- Wear gloves when handling dry ice.
- Keep dry ice out of reach of children and pets.
- Never ingest dry ice.
